Spear Devil - 026

[A/N: Sorry for the late upload but I am not feeling well, so I couldn't really work on The Wanderer today. This is a chapter from my stash, I hope you like it. Enjoy!]

Chapter 026 – Violin

[April – 2008]

While in the shower, I went over the system tasks, especially the latest as it was the most curious one.

[You are suspecting that Genshirou Saji will be assaulted by Fallen Angels and robbed of his Sacred Gear, Absorption Line. Make sure that doesn't happen. Directly or indirectly protect Genshirou Saji from the Fallen Angels. Reward: Spear of Resistance(Blank)(Uncommon).]

[You are suspecting that Asia Argento will be assaulted by Fallen Angels and robbed of her Sacred Gear, Twilight Healing. Make sure that doesn't happen. Directly or indirectly protect Asia Argento from the Fallen Angels. Reward: Durable Spear(Uncommon).]

[Become a Devil. Reward: One-Time-Use Path-Changing Ticket(Rare), Blood of the Demon(Rare), Resistance Bracelets(Rare).]

The last task had been generated the moment Rias asked me to join her peerage yesterday, but the task itself had nothing to do with accepting Rias' offer. It just said 'Become a Devil.', meaning that I could finish this task by joining any peerage I wanted, which was both good and bad.

I was naturally happy that the task wasn't too restrictive, but it also mean that even by joining the peerage of a Satan I would most likely not get any other rewards than by joining just Rias, which seemed odd, as both of those things were entirely different concepts.

Still, I wasn't too bothered, as I knew that the [Task]-function was only a sub-ability of the Support System. The rewards while attractive, couldn't replace the main ability of the system, which was clearly its Strengthening Path.

Weapon Absorption was the true strength of the Support System, while the different tasks were just there to reward certain actions and efforts that helped me on my path to power.

Pushing aside these thoughts, I once again used a bit of Dragon Aura to dry my body, though I left my hair alone as I decided to let it air-dry after roughly rubbing it dry with my towel.

Putting on my school uniform which consisted of a black blazer over a white, long-sleeved, button-down shirt with vertical lining, a black ribbon on the collar, a pair of matching black pants, and a pair of brown dress shoes, I decided to leave out the ribbon as it simply looked ridiculous.

I could hardly keep myself from turning it to ash as my draconic pride roared in anger at the mere thought of wearing a ribbon around my neck like some pet.

Shuddering briefly after imagining myself wearing it for even a single moment, I unbuttoned the top button of my shirt and decided to carry the blazer with me instead of wearing it. I also left my shirt over my pants and rolled up my sleeves.

I knew Sona would probably not like it, but I hoped she would just look past it due to her desire to recruit me. She was probably smart enough that she knew not to annoy me about my clothes if she wanted me to see her in a good light so that I may join her.

Looking at my tattoos with a smile after checking myself in the mirror, I had to admit that getting them was by far the best decision I had made so far in this new life. Not to mention that I definitely planned to get more as soon as I figured out a few motifs I wanted.

Grabbing my school bag and the violin case, which could be worn on one's back, which I promptly did, I also grabbed myself an apple for breakfast before heading out, even though I still had about an hour before I had to get going to make it in time.

I wanted to check out the school around the morning, especially the music room as there was no reason to let the Golden Tear go to waste any more than necessary while in school, I might as well try and make the best out of it.

On my way to school, I also looked up music sheets for more modern compositions suitable to be played by a violinist, as the ones in the notebook had all been relatively old classical plays.

Most of them simply weren't the type of violin music I enjoyed, not to mention that I could hardly find recordings of them online to listen to them and maybe learn something from them, as all I could find were recordings of these songs played by whole orchestras or at least several different instruments, which kinda annoyed me.

Finding pure violin solos that suited my tastes proved to be more difficult than I expected, especially since I loved sad and melancholic music. Thankfully my search yielded some results, one of them being a play composed by a musician I even remembered from my last life.

Some of the sheets were easy to find online and I managed to read through them quickly enough, but some of them had to be paid for, which I did without hesitation as I cared little for monetary wealth.

I was so absorbed in my task that I hardly noticed it when I arrived a the school, though a surprised shout had me look up from my phone.

"Akira-kun!", Murayama called out as she ran up to me after I had already entered the school gate, Katase following behind while looking at me with a surprised expression.

Blushing slightly, Murayama addressed me with a shy look, her eyes flickering to my tattooed hands and the violin case on my back, "I didn't expect you to come to school this early, Akira-kun."

“Good morning, Murayama. Katase.”, I greeted with a slight smile, “I just thought I could get a bit more familiar with the school grounds if I came a bit earlier and maybe borrow one of the empty music rooms.”

“You play an instrument?”, Katase asked curiously.

"The violin, though it's just a hobby to pass some time.", I replied, and could basically see both of them becoming even more interested in me.

My draconic senses easily picked up the slightest changes in their expressions, posture, tone of voice, scent, and even their heartbeat considering how close they were standing to me. I realized not for the first time that social interactions were very different for members of the Supernatural World, or at least they were for me.

It was way too easy for me to read the mood of another person, as my senses were incredibly sharp even with my Physique being only 5.3. It was no wonder why most Devils and Fallen seemed so charming to normal humans.

Being able to read the mood of a person by simply relying on their greatly enhanced senses, it was easy for supernaturals to be able to manipulate those around them even without magic.

Sharing a look with Katase that almost made me believe that Murayama and she possessed telepathic abilities, as they seemed to communicate with just their eyes, the brunette beauty asked with a deepening blush: "Would you mind if we listened in on you for a bit, Akira?"

Shrugging, I replied: “I have no problem with that, but you are here so early for your kendo training, aren't you?”

"It's fine, it's fine.", Katase countered hurriedly, as she explained, "Morning training is voluntary, and we won't listen for long."

“Ok, though I am not really a morning person and will need a few hours to wake up fully, so I hope you won't blame me for not being chatty so early.”, I voiced out, hoping that they understood what I tried to tell them and wouldn't try to shower me questions.

Thankfully, despite being teenage girls, they both seemed to get my point and we made our way through the school building, and to the fourth floor where the music rooms were, mostly in silence, both of them only asking if I had enjoyed my first day yesterday, and what I had done afterward.

Both were easily answered with a short 'Yes' and 'I went to bed early.', after which their questions ceased entirely.

Arriving before the music room, which was thankfully always open for students to use in their free time, I sat down my bag and jacket on the small bank before the large piano, while setting down my violin case on top of the massive keyed instrument.

I had always liked listening to the piano and as I looked at the beautiful instrument, I decided to learn it in the future.

Bringing my thoughts back to the present, I grabbed my violin and placed it under my chin with one hand, the other picking up the bow.

Murayama and Katase sat down quietly on the small bank that stood to the left side of the room, though I had already forgotten about their presence. Their existence disappeared from my mind a subconscious effort like I had done it so many times before with the audience at the countless chess tournaments I had partaken in my last life.

Recalling the notes of one of the songs I had looked up on my way to school, I adjusted the bow before finally touching the strings with it, my hand moving as I began to play.